Is Your Former Spouse Behind on Support Payments?

Sometimes a former spouse may fall into economic hardship and be unable to keep up spousal support (alimony) or child support. In other instances, an ex-husband or ex-wife may stop making payments without any valid reason or without communication regarding why payments have ceased. Legal channels must be followed if modifications to support payments are to be made; your ex-spouse cannot just decide to discontinue making payments that you and your children may vitally need to survive. When payments are not being made according to a divorce settlement, that individual is in contempt and you have the right to seek legal enforcement.

Legal Options for Obtaining Enforcement of Support Payments

There are several options that a divorce lawyer may be able to help you with when it comes to enforcing compliance of support payments. Your attorney can file a petition on your behalf to pursue civil or criminal contempt charges against your ex-spouse. The court can order enforcement of support and obtain payments through a variety of methods including bank accounts, wage garnishment, "garnishment" of workers' compensation or unemployment payments, tax refunds and others. Additional pressure that may be brought against an individual delinquent in their payment includes suspension of their driver's license, lien placement on property, reporting the past due payments to credit agencies or even issuing an arrest warrant. The severity of measures taken against the individual depends on the specific circumstances.

Contempt and Enforcement Attorney in Jacksonville

If your former spouse has stopped making support payments you should seek representation by a skilled Jacksonville divorce attorney. Former spouses are expected by law to comply with alimony and/or child support agreements after a divorce has been legally settled. If compliance is not met, the non-compliant individual is in contempt of a court order and legal action can be taken to enforce the divorce settlement. The attorneys with Hutchinson Law have successfully represented clients in a variety of matters involving enforcement of child support and alimony payments. Family law issues can be extremely trying and emotionally stressful. The lawyers at the firm understand this and work tirelessly to get the results the client is looking for while minimizing the negative impacts as much as possible.

Contact a Jacksonville contempt and enforcement lawyer right away if you have a spousal support or child support issue. It may be possible to swiftly resolve your case!